Fake licensing decals found

Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001 | 9:46 a.m.

Enforcement officers with the Transportation Services Authority say they're encountering an increasing number of illegal limousines with phony licensing decals on their bumpers.

Ted Pribnow, chief of enforcement for the TSA, said of six limousines impounded by agents during routine surveillance at the recent Mens Apparel Guild in California convention, two had fictitious certification numbers. He said his agents began discovering the use of fake numbers in February.

Pribnow said agents who work undercover to spot violations during conventions have lists of legal companies and their certification numbers and can check vehicles with suspicious numbers. But discovering phony numbers sometimes takes luck or an informant, he said, since there is no special state decal and operators are responsible for putting numbers in contrasting colors that are a minimum of 2 inches tall on their car bumpers.

Plainclothes TSA agents monitor large conventions, like the MAGIC show, for illegal limousine operations and solicitations.

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